


You Don't Need It

by omarandjohnny



Series: Sleep Walk [8]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Gen, Honesty, M/M, climbing the ladder, corporate headgames, moving in, telling the truth is weird, the books box, the shark tank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 12:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7574395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omarandjohnny/pseuds/omarandjohnny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron helps Robert unpack. This is about more than boxes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Don't Need It

Last of the boxes.

They'd shifted Robert's belongings over in stages to help ease the transition for everyone. Clothes, supplies, paperwork, and what Victoria referred to as 'the geek stuff.' 

Robert had dropped off the final load before heading to an evening drinks meeting down the road, leaving Aaron to haul and unpack. 

Aaron makes quick work of it, kicking off his shoes before beginning the second half of the job. He rolls his eyes at the first box, a full to the brim container of figures and movie mementos, choosing to open the 'BOOKS' box instead.

Woven into a stack of sleeved comics and fantasy novels, Aaron spots a worn copy of something called _Games People Play_. He finds the cover a bit clinical, but curiosity gets the better of him. He takes it from the pile, and reclines on their bed.

He opens the book to a section entitled 'Now I've Got You, You Son of a Bitch,' which strikes him as both humorous and unnerving. The underscoring in red. Determined, straight lines. Notes crowding the margins. He skims through the highlighted passages, beginning to feel like an intruder. Power struggles. Victim and Aggressor. Parent and Child. _Savage head games in a climate-controlled office._

Thumbing through the pages, he soon realizes he's holding evidence of the lengths Robert had gone to in order to ascend the ranks of the White empire. It had been so much more than a series of good results that'd accumulated over time, each a hatch mark on his score card. No, every single word he'd spoken had been chosen with precision. Mapped out. Weaponised.

He's seen this side of Robert many times before, of course he has, but this is different. 

_This is a snapshot: Robert at the lowest rung, looking skyward._

Aaron continues to flip through the book, not noticing Robert enter the room. 

"I do love being stood up by a potential cli-. Ah, see you've found my instruction manual."

Robert's newfound frankness is still jarring. Aaron doesn't know how to respond, so he gives a slight smile in return. Rob gestures for him to move.

"Budge up, go on." 

Robert takes the book from Aaron's hands, tossing it to the floor. As he sits back on the mattress, his calm expression helps puts Aaron at ease. _I know what you saw, it's alright._

"I was desperate to get 'somewhere.' Foot in the door, anything. Anything. Before the Whites, I was floundering. I had to succeed, Aaron. There was never a Plan B. That book was my blueprint."

Aaron nods, dipping his head into the crook of Robert's shoulder. 

"I understand."

"I know you do, Aaron. The knowing you do scares me a bit, to be honest."

Aaron leans his face up to kiss Robert, and then settles back against his shoulder.

"Scares me 'n all." 

Robert squeezes him close, grounding them both. 

"That book's going in the bin, Rob. You don't need it."

"Understood."

And it is.

**Author's Note:**

> Another inspired prompt by my Suggle touchstone ;) _Games People Play_ is definitely a book Robert would have in his arsenal. Hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- Johnny.


End file.
